Introduction to Philosophy of Technology

I would rate the overall quality of this book as excellent. One can imagine students getting excited about the philosophy of technology, and philosophy in general, from reading Coeckelbergh's work. He writes in a student-friendly manner, with clear and accessible prose.

Autorentext

Mark Coeckelbergh is Professor of Media and Technology in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna and was also President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology. He is the author of twelve books and a member of the High Level Expert Group on AI of the European Commission.

Klappentext

Addressing the technological opportunities and challenges of the 21st century, Introduction to Philosophy of Technology offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive overview of philosophy of technology available. It covers several of the classic theories and approaches, but also moves beyond them to explore a broader range of theories and a number of new dynamics in the field, including responding to new technological developments. Esteemed scholar Mark Coeckelbergh emphasizes how new technological developments stimulate philosophical thinking--and rethinking--and how philosophers of technology could do more to interact with other subdisciplines in philosophy and fields beyond academia, such as art and policy.

Inhalt

• PART 1. INTRODUCTION: PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY?
• 1. Introduction
• 1.1. Thinking about Technology?
• 1.2. Approach, Structure of the Book, and Overview of Chapters
• 2. History and Landscape
• 2.1. Beginnings: Two Ancient Myths
• 2.2. A Brief History of the Discipline
• 2.3. Historical Context, Landscape of the Discipline, and Critical Questions
• PART 2. THINKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BY STARTING FROM THEORY
• 3. Phenomenology and Hermeneutics: Heidegger, McLuhan, and Contemporary Work
• 3.1. Heidegger's Essay Concerning Technology: Beyond an Instrumental Understanding of Technology
• 3.2. McLuhan's Understanding of Media
• 3.3. Some Contemporary Work in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics of Technology
• 4. Postphenomenology, Material Hermeneutics, and Mediation Theory
• 4.1. Introduction: The Empirical Turn
• 4.2. Ihde's Postphenomenology and Material Hermeneutics
• 4.3. Contemporary Postphenomenology and Mediation Theory
• 4.4. Critical Discussion
• 5. Critical Theory and Feminism
• 5.1. Marx: Political Economy and Technology
• 5.2. Marx 2.0.: Social media and Exploitation
• 5.3. Critical Theory about Technology Beyond Marx: From Marcuse and Foucault to Feenberg and Winner
• 5.4. Feminist Thinking about Technology
• 5.5. Critical Discussion
• 6. Pragmatism, Analytic Approaches, and Transcultural Philosophy
• 6.1. Pragmatism
• 6.2. Analytic Philosophy of Technology
• 6.3. Intercultural and Transcultural Philosophy of Technology?
• PART 3 . THINKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BY STARTING FROM TECHNOLOGY
• 7. From Information Technologies to Philosophy and Ethics of Information
• 7.1. Introduction
• 7.2. All about Information: Floridi's Philosophy and Ethics of Information
• 7.3. Critical Discussion
• 7.4. Conclusions for Philosophy of Technology
• 8. From Robotics and AI to Thinking about Moral Status and Human Relationships
• 8.1. Introduction
• 8.2. Moral Machines? The Discussion about Moral Agency
• 8.3. The Discussion about Moral Patiency
• 8.4. Changing the Question: Toward More Relational Thinking
• 8.5. The Debate about Sex Robots and Human Relationships: Feminist (or Egalitarian) Questions
• 8.6. Humans, Non-Humans, and the More-Than-Human
• 9. From Genetic Engineering and Cyborgs to Transhumanism and Posthumanism
• 9.1. Introduction
• 9.2. Transhumanism and Human Enhancement
• 9.3. Posthumanism and Cyborgs
• 10. From Climate Change and Geoengineering to Questioning "Nature" and Thinking in and about the "Anthropocene"
• 10.1. Introduction: Earth, We Have a Problem
• 10.2. The Problem With "Nature": Modern Versus Non-Modern Approaches
• 10.3. The Anthropocene: Some Philosophical Responses
• PART 4. THINKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BY GOING BEYOND PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY (PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY +)
• 11. Philosophy of Technology and Other Philosophy: (Re)Connecting with Other Philosophical Subdisciplines
• 11.1. Introduction
• 11.2. Ethics and Moral Philosophy: Thinking about Virtue and Thinking about Technology
• 11.3. Philosophical Anthropology: Thinking about the Human and Thinking about Technology
• 11.4. Philosophy of Language: Thinking about Language and Thinking about Technology
• 11.5. Other Subfields: Some Examples
• 11.6. Conclusions for Philosophers of Technology
• 12. Philosophy of Technology and Other Academic Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity
• 12.1. Introduction
• 12.2. Some Examples of Transdisciplinary Work for Philosophers of Technology
• 12.3. Challenges for Transdisciplinary Work
• 13. Philosophy of Technology and Other Practices Beyond Academia
• 13.1. Beyond Academia: Innovation, Policy, and Art
• 13.2. Some Directions and Recommendations Concerning the Future of Research in Philosophy of Technology and Its Potential Implications for Education